Orphans: Nobody Told Us Killer would Go Free

A second bereaved family charges Justice Ministry with failing to break the news of murderers’ release.

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Maayana Miskin, 16/10/11 18:59

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Orphans whose parents and sibling were murdered by terrorists say nobody called from the Justice Ministry this week to tell them the killers would be walking free in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. “We got all our information from the internet,” Didi Dickstein told Arutz Sheva.

The Dickstein children’s complaint follows similar allegations from the family of Yossi Shok, who say they were falsely informed that only one of Yossi’s murderers was to be released this week, when in fact all three will be freed.

Rav Yaakov Dickstein, his wife Chana, and their sun Shuvael were shot at close range and killed in a 2002 terrorist attack. They were survived by nine children.

A child who survived the attack told investigators, "The terrorist came up to us, looked us in the eye, and began to shoot."

As Israel prepares the mass release of terrorist killers, one of the orphaned children says this “is a despicable act, a failure… The country has fallen before a terrorist organization,” said Didi Dickstein, adding, “This is a tremendous injustice.”

Dickstein faces not only the prospect of his family’s killer’s imminent release, but also the threat that his home will be destroyed.

“On the one hand, the state is coming with this clause, saying maybe they want to destroy the Haulpana neighborhood in the name of justice, our house, the whole neighborhood. But that justice does not extend to the murderers who carried out all the terrorist attacks, who in our case murdered our father and mother,” he said.

When asked how a person could cope with such a double blow, he said, “I don’t know. It’s very hard for me…. I feel helpless.”

Dickstein added that he reminds himself that “G-d will punish the killers.”

The Dickstein children plan to meet with others left orphaned of both parents in terror attacks. There are many such orphans in Israel, Didi related, including the five surviving children of the Schijveshuurder family and survivors of the 405 bus line attack.

The orphans began meeting long ago. This week, their meeting will have a specific purpose – to discuss the planned release of their parents’ murderers and the last-minute appeals launched in an attempt to stop the process.